“Gem of the Nature Coast”
For more than 100 years, Crystal River has evolved from a secluded, sleepy pioneer fishing village to ventures that included at one time a logging and citrus industry to today’s light manufacturing, aviation, manatee tourism, and a thriving commercial fishing and crabbing industries.
Some of our most famous personality visitors have been Dazzy Vance, Babe Ruth, Elvis Presley, Jacques Cousteau, Mel Tillis, Mike Hampton, Loretta Lynn, Faith Hill and Tim McGraw, and the many other entertainers that have discovered our hidden gem of northwest Florida.
Sports fishing enthusiasts long ago discovered Crystal River as a premier destination offering world class tarpon, redfish, trout, and grouper fishing, as well as our abundant scallop grounds during our annual summer scalloping season. As a result, Crystal River is the home of numerous annual fishing tournaments that draw anglers from across the region.
Our miles of bays, rivers, and estuaries beckon boating families and nature enthusiasts alike to view the abundant wildlife such as otters, dolphin, turtles, alligators, and wide spectrum of bird species from eagles to osprey, white pelicans to roseate spoonbills, and more.
However, the “crown jewel” of Crystal River remains our own city-owned Three Sisters Springs. Located in the center of the community at the headwaters of Kings Bay and Crystal River, this first magnitude spring lies hidden among the foliage down a narrow inlet that reveals the true beauty of “Old Florida”. Unspoiled for generations and long a popular swimming and diving destination for residents and tourists alike, it has also become a winter home for manatees drawn to its relative warmth of year round 72 degree water.
